Science

Science CurriculumScience Resources

The secular story of man's origins is a simple equation: slime + time = the world as we know it. Sometime in the primordial depths of history, an amoeba-like being crawled out of the sludge and into posterity. Sludgy-boy was the father of all that is, and through limitless permutations and evolutions his little one-celled self became the majestic Living World with its kingdoms, genera, and species.

God's Word tells a different story. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God made man, the planets, Earth, rivers, the ozone layer, electricity, bullfrogs, and volcanic activity. It's a strange inversion from the story atheists and naturalists like to tell—where they posit the simplest form gave birth to increasing complexity, Christians believe the most complex Being in the universe created a plethora of simpler living things out of absolutely nothing.

But arguing "Creationism" vs. Evolution is not the soul or substance of science. If atheists want to waste their breath, effort, and money trying to "prove" a phony theory, let them. Not that we shouldn't counter their claims, but we have to keep in mind that the battle is spiritual, not scientific and not even merely ideological.

To contrast, real science—observation, hypothesis, theory, and correction—glorifies God by attributing to Him the honor and praise for everything learned about the world, its inhabitants, and its mechanics. For Christians, it should be a joyful and positive pursuit, not simply a retort against secular rebellion. Man is commanded by God to subdue the Earth, to care for it, develop it, and use it, and our duty is to see that done in ways that honor Him.

It's essential that we not think of phenomena in isolated terms. The laws of physics aren't true by themselves, they're true because God decreed them and sustains them. The planets and stars don' crash into each other because mathematical equations keep them on trajectory; God keeps them on their appointed paths, and the equations only describe their movement.

Technology is often equated with science, but technological development is only one aspect of science. It's more broad than we tend to think, too—it's not just electronics and iProducts, it includes the wheel, shovels, stickframe construction, and gas stoves. Our responsibility is to make and use technology in ways that don't negatively affect the rest of God's creation, that help others, and that glorify the Creator of all things.

The world is a fascinating and wonderful place. Christians have more basis than anyone for saying this, since it isn't simply a randomized collection of cells and life forms but the creative work of God. Our study of science and nature should reflect this knowledge, and guide us in our research and development. Our prayer is that increased scientific knowledge will translate to increased thanksgiving and praise of the Maker of all things.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

Did you find this review helpful?
72 Items found Print
Active Filters: Nature Study, 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Trade Paperback
All the Water Birds - Pacific Coast
by Jack Griggs
1st edition
for 7th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Another Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America
by Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Avenging the Owl
by Melissa Hart
from Sky Pony Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bird Watching Answer Book
by Laura Erickson, Illustrated by Pedro Fernandes
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Birds' Eggs
by Michael Walters
1st edition
for 7th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Book of Insects - Student Text
by Arabella Buckley & Julia McNair Wright
from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$17.35
Book of Insects - Student Text (old)
by Arabella Buckley & Julia McNair Wright
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$10.50 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Trees
by Sean Brooks
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$17.35
Botany Coloring Book
by Paul Young
1st edition from Harper Perennial
for 5th-9th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
Creative Haven Beautiful Birds - Coloring Book
Creative Haven
by Dot Barlowe
First Edition, Fir from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$6.99
Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Dinosaur Bone War
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
Double Trouble in Bugland
by William Kozwinkle
from David R. Godine
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Draw 50 Baby Animals
by Lee J. Ames, Murray Zak
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Birds
by Lee Ames & Tony D'Adamo
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Cats
by Lee Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Creepy Crawlies
by Lee Ames
Reprint from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
Draw 50 Dinosaurs
by Lee J. Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Dogs
by Lee Ames
from Broadway Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Sharks, Whales, and Other Sea Creatures
by Lee Ames
from Broadway Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Farm Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.99
Golden Guide: Skyguide
Golden Guides
by Mark Chartrand
from Golden Books
for 2nd-7th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Handbook of Nature Study
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Comstock Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
History's Mysteries! Animals
by George Toufexis
from Dover Publications
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Life Coloring Books (Location: COL-ANI)
$3.00
How to be an Explorer of the World
by Keri Smith
from Perigee Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Book of Trees
by Eric A. Bourdo Jr., consultant editor
from Salamander Books Lmt.
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Insects of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by Judy Haggard, Peter Haggard
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Janice VanCleave's Play and Find Out About Bugs
by Janice VanCleave
from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Life of the Spider
by J. H. Fabre
from Purple House Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$12.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Marine Biology Coloring Book
2nd edition from Collins
for 4th-9th grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$24.99 $13.00 (1 in stock)
Minn of the Mississippi
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Moby-Dick (retold)
by Herman Melville, presented by Jane Needle, illustrated by Patrick Benson
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region
2nd edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$23.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes
2nd ed. from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects & Spiders
by Lorus and Margery Milne
Later Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$25.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mammals
by John O. Whitaker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$26.00
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Shells
Reprint from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$24.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$24.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees: Western Region
by Elbert L. Little
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$26.00
Nature Anatomy
Science Nature Guides
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$18.99
Nature Anatomy Notebook
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$19.99
Nature Study Idea Book
by Mary E. Woodis
for Kindergarten-12th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Nature's Beautiful Order
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$21.95
Nature's Beautiful Order - Teacher Key (old)
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ocean Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$18.99
Of Skies and Seas
My Father's World
by Joanne E. De Jonge
from Eerdmans
for 7th-9th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Pacific Northwest Insects
Timber Press Field Guides
by Judy Haggard, Peter Haggard
from Seattle Audubon Society
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$34.95
Pagoo
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Penguins: Flightless Birds of the Southern Hemisphere
from Sea World
for 6th-12th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Peterson Field Guide to Insects
Peterson Field Guides
by Donald J. Borror, Richard E. White
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Peterson Field Guide: Butterflies - Coloring Book
by Robert Michael Pyle, Roger Tory Peterson
Subsequent from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-7th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America
by Roger Tory Peterson
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Peterson First Guide to Butterflies and Moths
by Paul A. Opler
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$7.95
Peterson First Guide to Insects
Peterson First Guide
by Christopher Leahy
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.99
Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals
by Frederick H. Pough
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$7.95
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo
Scientists in the Field Series
by Sy Montgomery
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
2007 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, 2007 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Scat and Tracks of the Rocky Mountains
by James Halfpenny
1st edition from Falcon Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Snow Baby
by Katherine Kirkpatrick
from Holiday House
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Squirrels of the West
Lone Pine Field Guide
by Tamara Hartson
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Tales From a Northwest Naturalist
by Jim Anderson
1st edition from Caxton Press
for 5th-Adult
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
Tapir Scientist
by Nic Bishop, Sy Montgomery
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$9.99
Tarantula Scientist
by Sy Montgomery
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-7th grade
2005 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
The Defender
by Nicholas Kalashnikoff
Dover 2017 from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.95
Those Other Animals
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Tree in the Trail
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by Ellen Kuhlmann, Mark Turner
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.95
Trouble in Bugland
by William Kozwinkle
from David R. Godine
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Usborne Mysteries and Marvels of Nature
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Elizabeth Dalby
from Usborne
for 4th-8th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$15.29 $10.80 (1 in stock)
Wildlife Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$18.99
Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by David Moskowitz
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.99